CHAPTER17
That night Kari gave in to temptation and googled Ian Hart.
Sixty million options for her to choose from.
Kari scrolled through all the recent junk, the scandal and the delighted way in which the fanzines trumpeted how the star was brought to earth. Further back she went, until she was looking at Ian the star.
And his ladies.
So many of them. All so lovely, glittering, smiling, showing the world how thrilled they were to be with this man. Stars and fashion models. Women who looked perfect in whatever.
She could not get a clear impression of how Ian felt about it all, however. Not even about the one rumored to be his fiancée. A model. From Bulgaria . . .
Kari cut off her phone and pressed it to her middle. Willing herself to calm down. Swallowing against her queasiness.
When she could, she returned to her little pallet. Wishing she could take it back. Not know what she did now.
Ian Hart belonged to the world she had fled.
* * *
She was woken by sounds in the kitchen. The kitten was still asleep, nuzzled up to the nape of her neck. Kari slipped from the bed and found full, late-morning sunlight streaming over the eastern hills. She washed her face and slipped into her clothes. But when she opened the bedroom door, Sienna remained sprawled on Kari’s pillow, staring up at her.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
Sienna’s only response was a minute twitch of her tail.
Kari waved toward the open door. “Indrid is my oldest and dearest friend.”
Another twitch.
Kari left the door open and followed the smell of fresh-brewed coffee to the kitchen. “Sienna is being shy. Again. Maybe I should carry her in.”
“Perhaps she’s a one-woman cat,” Indrid said. “Then again, many young animals are shy.”
Kari made herself a cup, sipped, and followed Indrid to the rear porch. “I checked out Ian online.”
Indrid settled into one of the two rockers Noah had left. “When?”
“Middle of the night.” Another sip. “I didn’t get back to sleep until dawn.”
Indrid gave the sunlit hills a long look. “And now he wants to be with you.”
“For the moment.”
The older woman shook her head. “I don’t think that’s the case.” A sip, then, “And neither do you.”
“He thinks I’m special.”
“Because you are.”
“You’ve always said that.”
“Because it’s true.”
“Have you seen the women he’s been with?” Kari almost wailed the words.
“No. But I can imagine. And here’s the plain and simple truth, dear one. Now he wants to be with you.”
